Wireless networks are tele or data communications networks that use radio waves to carry information from one node in the network to one or more receiving nodes in the network. Cellular networks are characterized by the use of radio cells that provide radio coverage for a geographic area, with multiple cells arranged to provide contiguous radio coverage over a larger area. Wired communication can also be used in portions of a wireless network, such as between cells or access points. Wireless communication technologies are used in connection with many applications, including, for example, satellite communications systems, portable digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and mobile devices (e.g., cellular telephones, user equipment). Users of such applications can connect to a network (e.g., the Internet) as long as the user is within range of such a wireless communication technology.
Wireless communication technologies are handling increasing amount of data traffic volume. This is in part because mobile devices are becoming more sophisticated and are able to engage in more data-intensive activities such as displaying movies or playing video games. The network segment between the radio base station and the network edge is often termed as the mobile backhaul. This segment can become a bottleneck in wireless data communication if its capacity does not keep up with the increasing data traffic volume. Network service providers invest in the mobile backhaul, but this investment can incur large expenditures and diminishing returns.